


Day to Day Legends

by anxiousartichoke



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst, Gen, Reader Insert, a lot of headcanons with no source except my heart, discussions of parental neglect and gaslighting, discussions of poverty, feedback fuels updates, reader is not referred to with pronouns, short story collection, very cool older brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21585823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anxiousartichoke/pseuds/anxiousartichoke
Summary: A small collection of short second-person POV SwSh fics focused around moments between friends and found family. A little bit of angst, but mostly being comforted and trying to heal from both the effects of stopping the apocalypse and bad parents.
Relationships: Hop (Pokemon) & Reader, Piers (Pokemon) & Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	1. Sea Vents (ft. Hop & Marnie)

**Author's Note:**

> hi y'all! this is my first pokemon fic ever and i've been a little blown away by how much i love swsh!! previously, i'd only played White and Go, but I've never really been as attached to any of the characters in a pokemon game as i am these ones ;u; i'm like. co-president of the hop protection squad 
> 
> that being said, this chapter is a lengthy conversation between Reader, Hop, and Marnie, about their lives and why they want to become Champion of Galar. Warnings for discussing parental neglect, gaslighting, and what I'm assuming is a _terrible_ job of hashing out these accents.

Hulbury was a beautiful town. You’d been there a few times before, but never with good company. There was something about the sunset settling over the water that felt exceptional at the time. Paired with the saltine breeze, it healed your weary, anxious soul.

You were sitting with Hop on a bench by the lighthouse. Your Drizzile and his Raboot were passing a ball back and forth in your line of sight, your Chandelure went off off haunting who knows what. The atmosphere was nicer than you could ask for but, at the moment, the two of you were more focused on your friendly contest. Scouring your respective Rotomblr dashboards to try and find cursed content to send to each other was one of your favourite pastimes. It didn’t matter that you could see each other’s screens, as you were leaning on his shoulder and holding his arm hostage. The conversation skidded to a halt except for the occasional ‘oh, that’s _awful_ ’ or the crunching of crisps. Just as the gods intended.

You got halfway through a post he sent you before you saw a small figure in your peripherals. Suddenly, plopped down on the opposite end of the bench from you was that girl Marnie. She was out of breath, face flushed, her Morkepo clinging to her pocket for dear life. You and Hop both looked around for Team Yell, then back at each other, before shrugging. Nobody else was nearby.

“‘Afternoon,” she coughed, deflating against the wooden planks. She tried to smile at you, but it looked like a more neutral expression than she usually had.

“...Good evening, um, are you alright? Are you safe? We got bandages, snacks and near-full phone charges if you need anything-- Where’s your, ahh, fanclub?” You detached from your friend and dug around in your duffel bag, passing the newcomer a water bottle and some crackers.

She took both offerings and stared at them for a minute. She fed one of the crackers to her Morpeko when it squeaked at them. “I ran away from ‘em for a li’l bit. Wanted to see the town for m’self. Now I'm just hopin’ they don’t find me before I wanna be found. I 'preciate the concern, though.”

“We have some costume stuff if you need a disguise, might be a little big, though.” Hop nodded, putting his phone down.

“That… won’t be needed.” She tried to stifle a chuckle. “Do y’offer this much to everyone who comes your way?”

“We try to. Besides, we never know what we might need for our own adventures. Better over prepared than under, y’know?” You leaned back into your friend, who offered you his arm to hold on reflex.

“...What’s the... purpose of costume supplies, though?”

You spoke up first. “ _ **Well**_. We stopped in Motostoke for the night before coming over here, and there was a small convention going on for a show we like but we didn’t have much money so we. Tried to sneak in a comically large trench coat we found second hand. Which… did not go well--”

“--I was on top and almost _died!!!_ I mean, I survived, but I _**died!!**_ ”

“I steered us and we both _lived._ Our genius plan did not work. But we did end up getting in separately. I bought a Snom plushie and a tiny Sobble that clips to my bag and you got… something, what was it?”

“Our supper and hotel room that night, remember?”

“...Oh, right. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Marnie went through a whole face journey before arriving at a halfhearted grin. As soon as she caught herself, though, she tried to go back to being stoic. “So, you two‘re awful close then?”

“Yeah! We’ve been best friends for ten years!!” He went to ruffle your hair, but you managed to catch his hand before he could. You held onto both his arms.

“It must be nice,” she muttered, turning her gaze to her lap.

“I wouldn't trade it for the world but, you’ve surely got people around you?” You blinked at her a few times.

She fell silent for a few minutes as the breeze picked up. At last, she sighed. “I’ve got people who _love me_ , yeah, I’ve never had much in the way of _friends._ There's a world of differences there."

"I get what you mean. That's rough."

"It’s been just me an' my brother forever, but I rarely get to see ‘im 'cause he does a lot of work for me an' our town, and I’m so _embarrassed_ when it comes to my... fans, but they’re tryin’ their best for me and... I’m real tired, don't mind me.”

“You’re talking to two people with _extensive_ family troubles, don’t worry about it.” Hop tried to give her a pat on the shoulder, but he couldn't quite reach, so you did it in his stead.

“Oh… What’s yer story then? If you wouldn’t mind sharin’ it.” 

His face lit up like he'd been waiting eons to get something off his chest. He wrestled his arms from you and cracked his knuckles before getting into it. “Ehh, it’s not much. Basically, my bro spends all his time between Wyndon or Hammerlocke so I don’t get to see him much. We text a lot, we have a scheduled calling time once a week, but he’s always _so_ busy. And gets so many messages a day, and so many other things, and our ‘appointments’ are even spotty most weeks. Mum spends so much time worrying about _him_ she forgets about _me_ a lot, and dad moved back to Alola when I was too small to remember him. But, y’know how it goes. I've gotten this far just 'cause I still have a ghost under my sails.” 

"I'm not a ghost," you grumbled. You appreciated the recognition nonetheless.

“That’s a lot more than you think it is,” she muttered, feeding another cracker to her Morpeko. “But, that's the family of the champion, I guess. I can’t remember my folks at all but, I think that’s better than ‘em being distant like that. It sounds so tirin' to be invisible.”

“It had _some_ perks, ‘cause I got to do whatever I wanted for the most part, but. I’ve always wished I wasn’t pushed to the wayside. It’s not even… jealousy, I think. I’m so proud of Lee and I love him with my whole heart!! I'm _really_ not jealous. But, it’s just… a kind of self-preservation to want to be in the light, too, isn’t it?” He sighed, staring out over the waves. 

“It makes you wanna do _somethin’_ , right? Y’wanna act out an' do some crazy stuff to get noticed, even if it’ll just hurt people, including yourself?”

“Yeah, actually. But, this might be the closest thing I’ve ever come to ‘acting out.’ I've never been good at it.”

“Do y’think you’ll be happier if you replace Leon as champion?”

Hop froze, every gear in his head whirring into overdrive. He raised his hand a few times, trying to reach for an answer. It struck him he didn’t have one. So, he changed the center of attention. “Say, you’ve been quiet, ghostie, it’s your turn now.” he said, sitting up a little. 

You sat up, too. “If I get started, I will _not_ stop.”

“You don’t gotta say anythin’ if it’d make you uncomfy.”

“It’s not like that, I don’t mind my baggage, there’s just… so much of it.”

“Start at the beginnin’ then? I like to listen.”

You shook your head and took a deep breath. "My parents got divorced and my mom, elder sister and I moved here from Unova over it. We were poor even by Potswick standards but, we managed to eat most of the time. But, um, my mom's the real narcissistic sort. She never wanted to ask for help and yet her failures were on us. She belittled my sister and I a lot and kept saying we couldn't afford anything because of so many weird reasons. I'm pretty sure she just kept drawing excuses out of a hat. She kept pushing her goals on us and spending our food money on dust collectors or craft stuff she never ended up using. When my sister completed high school and moved onto university, she went to this one in Wyndon and... hasn't been back since. Packed up all her stuff and disappeared. I haven’t had contact with her, but mom always talks about her like she’s in mourning. A Chandelure took up residence on our porch soon after she left and I still take care of it whenever I can. It’s the closest thing to a memento I have of her."

You paused, looking between your two listeners. Hop stared at his hands as if his palm lines were the most interesting thing in the world, having watched all this go down in real time, and Marnie had her usual neutral face, except with furrowed brows. They weren't asleep or running, so you continued your tale. “All mom’s negative energy got focused on me after she left, on top of the neglect and everything else. I avoid being home as much as possible now, disguising it as long camping trips or visiting friends for extended periods. I’ll become the champion if it means not having to go back to that haunted house.”

“Oh… I’m not sure what to say, to be honest. If y’ever need a place, Spikemuth is rough, but it’s got community. Someone would be able to help, or at least make sure you weren’t starvin’ or lonely or anythin’. We all know what hardship’s like there, so you’d be in good company. We end up with a lot of lost people there.”

Your friend jumped up, standing in front of you with a pose that was somewhere between a regular flex and a dab. It seemed he was out of sitting still juice for the next little while. “That gives me an idea! When I’m champion, we could totally live in Lee’s flat with him!! Or we could get our own? I love Motostoke more than Hammerlocke and it has that diner we both like and--”

“Champion or not, we aren’t exactly, um, old enough to get into legally binding contracts. And I don’t think anyone would rent anything to us, even with the power of sponsorship money. But, I do appreciate the thoughts and offers, from both of you.”

“Alright, new plan,” Hop clapped his hands together. 

You gave him a blank stare. “Does this one involve petty crime?” 

“...Maybe.”

Marnie tried to hide a chuckle again. Either she was getting worse at it as the evening turned to dusk, or she was starting to get comfortable. “All this is just remindin’ me of what I’m fightin’ for, but I’m almost the total opposite of both of you. I want to be champion so I can get some spirit back into my li’l town. I wanna give back to my brother an' my neighbours an' the people who’ve supported me no matter what. Just to justify their sacrifices an' all that.”

“Love, escapism, and justification. We’re a weird bunch this time around, huh?” You 

“We might be. It’s still comfortin’ to know y’aren’t alone, isn’t it? To have someone listen to your story, no matter how much better or worse their own is, is… nice. I gotta get goin’ but, I wanna hear more about the trouble you two have been in sometime.”

“I’d love to hang out again. You’re really cool, Marnie.”

“Yeah!! Do you have a rotomblr or a number or something?” 

A ruckus started up barely a street over, coming closer, and the girl went white as a sheet. “You think I'm...?” She turned away, but the sound grew closer. Time was short. “I don’t have anything like that right now but, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again real soon. I gotta scram before a fight breaks out or somethin’.”

“Good luck in the gym tomorrow and, you can travel with us if you ever want to. We’re a little poky but we keep it fun.” He pointed some finger guns at her.

“I’ll keep that in mind!!” She darted away at record speed, getting enough distance between you, her, and her grunts that they didn’t notice you. 

The sky was dark and your haunted lamp came back from wherever it was, looking brighter than it had that morning. It hissed and circled around you, before starting off in the direction of your hotel. When you didn’t follow, it hissed louder and repeated the motions a few times. You stood up, stretching as you did so. You picked up your massive duffel bag and called over your Drizzile, who took your free hand in its sweaty one. 

“We gotta stop making friends with our competition,” pouted your friend and alleged rival. He knelt down and his Raboot, completely exhausted, climbed onto his back. “It’s gonna make crushing them to dust a lot harder.” 

“I mean, you and I’re pretty much related by now, and that Marnie’s really nice. So, yeah, actually, that's going to suck. But! There is still one rival that we _have to_ hate.” 

“Oh, right, beetroot guy.” 

“Yeah. He makes me wish I carried a cold, slurpable drink every time he says anything. Or if I were confrontational enough to actually punch him, that’d also be cool. Both are good options.” 

“I think you’d win a physical fight against him. He might be taller, but it’s all ego.” 

“Sounds about right. But, um, Hop?” You stared up at your guide Chandelure, drifting above your heads. 

“What?” 

“I’ve been picking up on it for awhile but, you’ve never really… said out loud why you want to be a gym challenger and a champion before, have you?” 

He slowed down his pace so he was talking side by side with you. “I don’t think I have. To be honest, I wasn’t thinking about what I was talking about and it just kind of happened. Maybe things aren’t as good as I think they are but, it just means I have a little extra work to do. Happy people don't put themselves into trials like we do.” 

“What if you never get to that point? Or what if you fail?” 

“I’d try my luck at the cup next year, I'm sure. But, if I _couldn’t_ , or if I _had_ to choose a different outcome, I’d want to be writing your story instead. ‘Sides, you’re a trainer because of me. If you become a star and I don’t, could you toss that out to the crowd from time to time? Hold on, I know how to word it--” He cleared his throat and put on his best imitation of your accent. “I’m here today thanks to my best mate Hop, who is very cool, talented, and optimistic, because he helped me catch my first Yamper when we were six. And that was the slippery slope that lead me all the way to Galar Stadium.” 

You were both quiet after that, stepping into the hotel lobby and digging through your pockets. You checked that you both had your own respective room keys and one of each other’s before splitting for the night. 

You were supposed to be fighting Nessa in the morning but, sleep was for the weak. Instead of settling down, you both were up half the night sending memes back and forth and talking about your new pal.


	2. Lavender Tea (Ft. Piers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You moved in with Piers and Marnie after a series of tragedies, and have trouble adjusting. After waking up from a nightmare, your new housemate/brother has some wisdom to share about trying to be okay after going through a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! sorry i havent updated in a year! after i started ch1, i accidentally started approximately 20 WIPS that were gonna be ch2, and proceeded to not work on. Any of them! for a solid six months! whoops. here's a short chapter with similar themes from the last one, arguably about the same reader character.

3:34 AM.

You bolted awake.

You felt like you'd been running for hours. Disheveled, confused, cold. Your eyes whipped around your room until they found your nightlight. And you took a deep breath. You knew where you were. You were safe here. You’d just been haunted again by the nightmare you had on repeat.

Since you left, you'd become hyper-aware of how your experiences weren't _normal._ You'd mention offhand something that happened -- either a thing your parents did, or something from during your gym challenge -- and all the adults in the room would look concerned. They'd say none of that should've happened, or ask if you were okay, or some other thing. You didn't get it until it became hammered in that your life wasn't what it was supposed to be. Everything snapped at once. The literal apocalypse. Being kicked out of your childhood home for x, y, z reasons. But just as quickly as it happened, your friends were there to pick you up. You'd been living in Spikemuth with your favourite people for a few months now. But, you still felt like you were grieving your past life. You were trying to rebuild yourself after years of a toxic environment and had so much progress to make, it scared you. And it kept haunting you with bad dreams. Asking for you back...

You sat up and shook your head to get the thoughts out.

Your zigzagoon stared at you with one eye open, huffed, and crawled into your lap. As soon as you started to pet her, she was back to snoring. You pet her bristly fur for some time. But it was quiet. You were focusing too much on how much your heart was beating which made it so much _worse_. You felt like you needed to leave your room, and, carrying your hefty companion as best you could, you went on a quest to get water.

The living room lights were still on, which was a pleasant surprise. Piers was awake and appeared to be watching _The Great Galar Baking Show_. He was having a rough time with it. Someone dropped their bake, judging by the dramatic music, and the poor man clapped one hand over his heart, the other over his forehead, and had to avert his gaze from the TV. He looked again, but the scene hadn't transitioned, and he went right back to staring at his coffee cup like its contents would save him.

You reached into the cupboard for your favourite mug. When the cups accidentally clinked together, you heard a confused yelp from behind you, followed by someone adjusting how they were sitting.

“Can I at least get a ‘good mornin’ out of you? Y’startled me, kid.”

“Ah,” you stammered. It occurred to you that you were still in that stage of anxiety where talking felt impossible. You struggled to make any sound at all, let alone _saying something._ You started to shake where you stood. Your zigzagoon licked your face as moral support.

“Oh, no, don’t worry ‘bout it, I’m not upset, are y’alright? You don’t have to say anythin’, just give me somethin’ to work with.”

You shook your head, no.

He sighed, and stood, and stretched, a few things crackling and popping that betrayed how long he’d been sitting there. He leaned against the archway between the two rooms, eying you up and down. “So what’s goin’ on? Did y’have another bad dream?”

You nodded, and he sighed again.

“Y’haven’t slept in days from the looks of it. Though, ‘guess I’m one to talk…” He scratched at his hair. “Was it the dream about your folks, or the Darkest Day, or a new one?”

One finger, raised in defeat.

“That one _again?_ I’m sorry kiddo. If there’s anythin’ you need right now, I’m all ears or... eyes, whichever’s easier on you.”

You held out your mug to him and he nodded, filling up the kettle. “I gotcha, go get cozy.”

You waited for about five minutes on the sofa, with him mixing you a strange, lavender-lemon-mint concoction, and humming along to an old song of his. Pleased with his work, he passed the sludge-like tea to you, and sat down with you. Your pokemon took one whiff of it and ran to a different room. It was uncomfortably quiet, between you still being unable to talk, and Piers unsure what to do to further be helpful. He turned his show back on. Something to break it up.

And you slowly unfurled from your defensive position, taking about half an episode to do so. He’d been talking at you the entire time. Mentioning the texture of passion fruit never looked good so he’d never tried one, something about sour candy being better than chocolate, some other stuff you _heard_ but didn’t _process._ You’d nod or tap on his arm to say you were listening, and he’d go down another avenue of making conversation.

“...bakery here in town. It was a front a’ some sort, but they had real good muffins. Never learned what happened to ‘em.”

“What,” you mumbled, phasing back into what he was saying at _probably the wrong time._

“Yeah, it belonged to some kinda Unovan mafia I think? Welcome back.”

“Hi, I’m a little better I think. And. There was a Unovan mafia? Here? And you… went to their sketchy front bakery?”

“I was a regular. First name basis with most of the staff an’ all.” He shrugged.

You gave him a blank stare. “Why.”

“Well, we don’t get local businesses that aren’t clubs. Listen. _Listen.”_ He leaned in _real close. “_ It was excitin’ at the time. Have y’ever had a blueberry and mago muffin? They’re _ace_. Now we gotta go all the way to Hammerlocke for a nice coffee ‘cause some group a’ weirdos kept stealin’ people’s Pokemon. _”_

“That’s. A lot to unpack,” you cycled between concern and awkward laughter.

“It _is_. I get heated about it. The local culture here is gettin’ replaced by drunks an’ _influencers._ ” He hissed, crossing his arms against his chest. A minute or so passed, and he thought of something new to say. “Y’still got some time but. I want you to know. There’s nothin’ better to do when you’re in your twenties than get mad about stuff. Everythin’ that happens is both the worst thing to ever happen and a regular Tuesday.”

“Is really that all there is? Getting mad at stuff?”

“Of course. What else are you gonna do with all that time on your hands? Though, sometimes there’s phone calls also. An’ emails. A lot of phone calls an’ emails, actually. An’ problem solvin’. Just dreadful.”

You reflexively shuddered. “Oh Arceus, emails.”

“Worst of all, you gotta _reply_ to ‘em sometimes. They might be time sensitive or whatever.”

“Horrible news. Downright awful,” You looked him up and down and his expression wasn’t serious at all. You started to chuckle. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Speakin’ of loss, you should drink your tea while it’s hot. Otherwise it’ll lose the effect.”

You took a sip, and were immediately bombarded by _lavender._ You felt, in that moment, like you’d made a mistake. You’d be taking the aftertaste of lavender to your grave “What… effect is that?”

“Last time I drank a cup a’ that stuff I think I slept twenty straight hours,” he said, as if that were normal. He didn't look away from the TV.

Well, it was too late to spit it back out, and you needed the rest. You went on the beginnings of a face journey before trading experimental sips for gulps. This was fine.

"Hey, you _know things_. What's that thing you an' Marnie an’ that Hop say to each other before beatin' each other up these days? I swear it's a new thing every week."

You stared, perplexed, into your lap. Piers asked you to explain memes enough that it wasn’t a jokey question. _"Vibe check???_ We don’t say that anymore, bro…" 

"Already? But. Ahh, your vibes have been just _awful_ lately."

"Um," you stammered, looking up at him.

His expression was too soft for his matter-of-fact statement. "What? I used that right, didn't I?"

"You did, technically, but that's a little out of nowhere." You huffed.

"Sorry, I didn't have a better... lead in, for what I wanted to say, really. ‘Cause unfortunately for you, I've got a soap box for standin’ and you've got ears for listenin'." He took a deep breath. He went through a few hand motions before finally settling on propping his chin up by his elbow. "What I mean by your… Vibes? Is that y'got an awful cloud around you, y'know? It keeps gettin' worse an' it's worryin' me. I pay attention to what's goin' on an' I see you tired an' scared an' not sure where the boundaries are, or feelin' like you gotta catch up to everyone else all of a sudden an'. You don't gotta say anythin' if you don't wanna. I'm not gonna ask. ‘cause there’s a lot I don’t know about your situation and might not ever. But, you're gonna be okay, kiddo. It's not gonna be bad forever. Y'aren't walkin' on eggshells. There won't be another apocalypse tomorrow an' we'll never send you packin' back to your bad folks.

An' you must feel like you've got an impossible weight on your shoulders but. You aren't carryin' it alone anymore. You have me an' Marnie, all the gym leaders, Leon, Hop, Team Yell..." He trailed off for a moment, and shook his head. "Maybe not that lot, they're a little too rowdy for you still. But! No matter what happens, you have a home here as long as you need us. Did that make sense? I hope it did. I’m exhausted." He finished his thought with a loud sip of coffee.

You were silent for some time, sitting still on the sofa, staring into the middle distance.

He gave you a gentle shake. "Still with me?"

Oh! Right! Responding. Your voice tumbled out quiet and weak. "Um, yeah... It makes sense but. Do you really mean all that?"

"Of course. I don't want you to _ever_ feel like you're gonna get kicked out, alright?" It was difficult sitting down, but he pulled you in for a hug. He flinched when you wrapped your arms around him on reflex, which made you flinch back. But, he didn't let go, and nor were you about to. “You’re still shakin’ quite a bit.”

“...Oh, I didn’t notice… But. I believe you. On all that stuff. Things’ll be okay even if they aren’t right now.”

“‘Course it is. Only way to go is up, after all. You just gotta want it. And maybe you don't think you want to get better right now ‘cause three weeks ago you thought everythin’ was fine, but then Eter...whatever, an’ gettin’ kicked out, an’ that other stuff all went down, an’ you’ve got a lot to process still. But you’ll wake up one day an’ think ‘huh, I want to move on now.’ and y’will. In a flash.”

“You sound like you’re talking from experience.”

“Somethin’ like that. I’ve seen a lot. Eventually y’get to a point where nothin’ phases you anymore. Y’just know how to handle it without even thinkin’. It’s weird, dealin’ with somethin’ an’ thinkin’ about how a few months before it would’ve sent you into a panic. But, there you are, goin’ at it. Maybe a few cares in the world but not enough to be a hindrance. You never notice the transition as it’s happenin’.”

“That sounds nice, honestly. I remember before I started the gym challenge I just sorta… Lived with everything that was happening, upset with how things were going but not being sure how I’d change it, or if it was really different from what everyone else dealt with. I was fine in the moment, but I was in a bubble. I could avoid how bad I felt by pretending there wasn’t an alternative. But around the second badge, barely a week into freedom? That started unraveling. It was so different from what I was used to. I could just… Do things. _Be_ on an adventure. Hop and I got into a lot of trouble and did a lot of dumb things and it was _awesome._ ”

Piers nodded, giving you an awkward pat on the head. “...What was the dumbest? ‘Cause I think we have _very_ different ideas of what that entails.”

“We snuck into a Cosmo Trek convention, unsuccessfully? Also I paid him 100 pokedollars to eat glowing mushroom slime. And we got _super lost_ in the Glimwood Tangle and befriended some phantumps!! And there was this time we tried to share the largest milkshake in the region, and that time we--”

“Kiddo, back up the train here -- He did that on _100?”_

“He actually did it for free, I just. Felt _really bad_ afterwards and bought him a snack because he got kinda sick.”

“That kid’s gonna be publishin’ important scientific papers pretty soon.” He picked up his mug and swirled the last few sips of coffee around, before downing the rest of it in one big gulp. “What would he do for _1000?”_

“Too much. Sonia bet him? I’m not sure how much?? But he had to sneak into the Stow-On-Side ruins to steal a rock. We all have a sizeable chip off of an ancient statue now.” 

“...Never let that boy go.”

“We promised each other when we were seven that if one of us died we’d come back as a ghost and haunt the other. I can’t break promises, that’d be rude.” You blinked up at him. “But, so, what have you done that’s _dumb?_ ”

Piers started laughing. He finally released you -- it seemed even he forgot he’d had an arm around your shoulders all this time -- and sighed. “I gotta. Be a responsible adult here an’ not go off ‘bout that. ‘Sides, you must be feelin’ sleepy by now?”

“I’m still thinking about your vibe check earlier, honestly. It was kind of a lot.”

“I’ll be a real big sap _again_. Don’t make me.”

“I’ll take your word for it. I--” You interrupted yourself with a yawn. “Guess I am a lot sleepier than I thought. I don’t want to go back yet...”

“I know it can be hard,” he paused, flexing and relaxing his hands as he thought about how to phrase something. “When you’re goin’ back to bed after a nightmare. Especially since y’don’t know what your dreams are gonna be like until after the fact. But, what’s the worst thing that can happen, y’know? I’ll probably still be here watchin’ my show an’ drinkin’ my coffee an’ wishin’ you well if you need it. Is your room comfy enough? Are you warm enough in there? Is your night light workin’ right?”

“Yeah, everything’s perfect with my room, and I’m going to be okay. I’ve decided it and I said so and that’s going to make it come true.” You reached for Piers’ arm and he held it out to you without thinking about it. You readjusted so you could cling to it.

“You’re gettin’ it. I’m proud of you, kiddo. You're doin' a great job."

A comfortable quiet settled over the conversation, replaced by the final judging of some rather extravagant cakes. As a new episode started to roll, Piers tried to get up… Only to be held on the couch by you, passed out, head resting on his shoulder. He frowned, grumbled _something,_ and tossed a blanket over the both of you.

**Author's Note:**

> if you liked this, it'd be cool of you to follow me on tumblr @ loveballzigzagoon and send me any requests if you have any, i don't do ns/fw and romance isn't my gig but i'll see what i can do!! i do have a LOT of WIPS tho :0 
> 
> as far as my posting schedule goes? no idea! i'm just riding this hyperfixation train as far as it'll take me tbh


End file.
